Edit Your Life, Part 5: Your Wardrobe | Zen Habits Quick note: Every Wedneday is Simplicity Day on Zen Habits, and for the next few weeks, these posts will be a series called “Edit Your Life,” looking at ways to simplify different parts of your life. I’m a former newspaper editor, and one of the things I learned was to edit brutally (no sarcastic comments about why I don’t do that with my blog posts). Cut out everything that’s not necessary, and you’ve got a more meaningful story. I highly recommend editing your life. Today’s edit: Edit your wardrobe. Take a look at your closet — is it stuffed full of clothes you don’t wear? If so, your wardrobe may be in need of editing. To edit your wardrobe, here are some simple steps: Pull out all the clothes from your closet. Personally, I simplified my wardrobe years ago. I still need to edit my wardrobe, though, on a regular basis. Simplify your wardrobe, and your life will be much simpler and stress-free. Related articles elsewhere: See also:
How to feel better now What makes you happy? I find directly pursuing happiness is difficult to do. Many times the things we think will make us happy fail to do so. But what about feeling good right now? Hack One: Goals Nothing creates a bigger jolt of enthusiasm than a new inspiring vision of the future. Hack Two: Chores Procrastination sucks. Hack Three: Laugh Don’t take yourself so damn seriously. Hack Four: Aid Help someone who needs it. Hack Five: Socialize One of the leading evolutionary theories for explaining the size of the human brain is our complex social structure. Hack Six: Inspiration Find something to get you inspired, even if just for a short time. Hack Seven: Exercise Exercise releases various chemicals into your brain which leave you feeling good. Hack Eight: Posture Change the way you hold your body to reflect someone who is happier. Hack Nine: Music Music is a fast way to boost your happiness. Hack Ten: Nature Hack Eleven: Hug Hack Twelve: Meditate Hack Thirteen: Flow Hack Fourteen: Game
A Guide to Creating a Minimalist Home | Zen Habits Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter. I can’t claim that my home is completely minimalist, but it surely isn’t cluttered, and most people I know would call it a pretty minimalist home. One recent visitor saw my kitchen and remarked, “I’ve never seen a kitchen that looked so clean, so clear of stuff!” For example, on the floor of my kitchen/dining room area are just a few essentials: dining table (clear of any clutter), chairs, some counter stools, a high chair, a step stool for the kids. Is this kind of minimalist home devoid of character and fun and life? Benefits of a Minimalist Home I could probably go on for awhile about this, but let me just list a few key benefits: Less stressful. What a Minimalist Home Looks Like This would vary, of course, depending on your taste and how extreme of a minimalist you want to be. Minimal furniture. One room at a time. —Read more about simple productivity, focus and getting great things done in my book, The Power of Less.
DivineCaroline: Relationships, Health, Home, Style, Parenting, and Community for Women Seven steps to overcoming procrastination | Top Stories IF YOU'RE constantly leaving work to pile up on your desk, there's a very good chance you might just be on the avoidance treadmill. Procrastination shouldn't be a long term strategy, but sometimes we all treat it as though it is. It happens to the best of us. The harsh reality is that procrastination is just a nice way of saying avoidance. So instead of succumbing to the dreaded beast – try these tips for overcoming procrastination: 1. Is it fear, is it that you don’t get on with someone, is it because you have to deliver bad news and you’re not sure how to go about it? 2. I usually do the things I'd prefer to avoid in the morning, so they are out of the way. 3. If you need to write yourself a script, do it. 4. 5. But only when you are finished. 6. See how good it feels to get something done that would normally sit in your in-tray for ages. 7. There are some things that we just aren’t suited to, or that we don’t have the expertise for. ARE you guilty of avoiding work like the plague?
The Girlie Blog Helping others leads to Twitter Success by Jamie Birch from Jeb Commerce (@jamieEBirch) on Twitter. I’ve found myself becoming increasingly more organized in my “Twitterating” (you can use that) the past month or so. When I first joined the Twitternation, I was, like others, skeptical and at times annoyed by the service. But since starting my own agency, I’ve become more engaged in Twitter and found one way to broaden your reach, identify and work with new partners, and connect with potential new clients. It’s now become a vital piece of my business and I think it can become the same for you. It’s a concept that is very basic and has been around forever – help others. Ok, I have a little more than that. There have been much discussion on how to use TweetDeck, so I’ll focus on TweetLater.com. The concept is this; Twitterers often use Twitter to find others that can help them with a problem they are encountering at that moment in time. So here is how I use it: Some things to remember:
Just Do What You're Doing I'm not a particularly zen person. I multi-task like a tornado, I talk really fast and I once spent the latter part of a day at MachuPiccu thinking about which bus we were going to take into Bolivia. Add to this my deeply pragmatic nature and inclination towards eye-rolling and you can imagine how new age spiritual practices and proclamations about 'Serenity Now!" sit with me. But, you guys, I'm really, really busy. Last week, while I was simultaneously making toast, texting and checking my email (and doing a poor job of all) the tiny voice inside my head said: "For the love of Pete, just do what you're doing." Just make the toast. Just text your friend. Just email your mom. The concept of mindfulness isn't anything new. but skeptical me felt ridiculous announcing to my apartment and cat "I am standing in my kitchen. But a casual reminder to myself just to do what I'm doing? How do you handle multi-tasking and the pressures of day-to-day life?
Starting a blog? 12 ideas for blog posts I’m currently writing a chapter on blogging for a book on online journalism [ UPDATE: Now published ]. It includes 12 typical blog post types to kickstart ideas. Here are the examples I came up with – I’d welcome any more: Point 6 UPDATED January 20 2012 in response to this blog post (I’m now wondering: was that linkbait? : the best way to start blogging: simply link to something elsewhere that you feel is interesting, or (better) that you disagree with. : for a story or for a way of doing things . : a straightforward and easy way to create a post. : attend a relevant event – a conference, meeting, public talk, demonstration, or even just a conversation – and write about it. : this typically only works once you’ve established a readership and generated goodwill by contributing yourself on your blog and in comments on other blogs, or if it’s for a worthy cause. : there are two ways you can pick a fight on your blog – one good, and one bad.
21 Ways to Cope With Anxiety Hello Sweeties!! I compiled this list from all of the comments on my previous post about anxiety last week. I also added in my own ways of dealing with anxiety. Thank you so much for all the feedback! 21 Ways to Cope With Anxiety ♥ Watch a beautifully stunning movie in your comfy pj's! ♥ Focus on the positive aspects in your life. ♥ Listen to your favorite music or watch a television show that you absolutely love! ♥ Talk to someone close to you who can reassure that everything is going to be okay. ♥ Take a hot bath! ♥ If medication for anxiety isn't an option for you, consider alternative methods such as hypnotherapy. ♥ Take vitamin supplements that help with anxiety. ♥ While trying to fall asleep, think about positive things like the projects you are working on. ♥ If you cannot sleep at all, take some Melatonin. ♥ If you are religious, try praying. ♥ Think of an anti-anxiety mantra. ♥ Eat a banana! ♥ Sit down somewhere quiet and meditate. Imagine a place where you feel safe and happy.
7 Ways to Be Worth Following on Twitter ‘How do I get followers on Twitter?’ – it’s a question it seems everyone is asking. In this post Jo-Lynne (follow her at @dcrmom) shares some tips on being the kind of Twitter users people want to follow. Hi. I’m Jo-Lynne and I’m a Twitteraholic. Yes, I’m unashamedly and unapologetically addicted to Twitter. 1) Be Interesting It’s fine to announce what you’re doing and thinking and what you had for lunch, as long as you do it in a way that is entertaining to your followers. @subdiva could have said, “Packing to go to Disney tonight!” @rocksinmydryer could have said, “I hate dieting” but instead she wrote: “May I just say, for the record, that PORTION CONTROL STINKS? Of course not everything you post has to be clever, but if you’re just sharing your thoughts and happenings, try to make it worth reading. 2) Be Informative Not every tweet should answer the question, “What are you doing right now?” 3) Be Interactive Don’t be a “hit and run” tweeter! 4) Be Promotional 5) Be Personal